Letters to the Editor for June 28, 2013

Published: Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 9:54 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 9:54 p.m.

Don't stop the music

I teach music at an elementary school. Every year, we are told that the School Board is going to cut our programs first to save money. Every year, we keep advocating the importance of music education. The School Board members say they understand the importance of music education at the elementary level.

They say they support fine arts programs in Marion County. Yet, they have taken away music and art from our elementary students.

Board members and the superintendent come to events such as the All-County Honor Choir or Charlie Dixon Elementary Music Festival. They say what a good job our students do.

I wonder if they know that the program is not built in one day. Little by little we are teaching skills to our students. By teaching them the components of music they are able to put them together to perform beautiful music. Students not only learn the music skills, but they also learn how to work in a team and how to be creative. These are the kinds of skills they will need to have to work in the real world.

I hope that the board understands that cutting music at the elementary level is cutting music at middle and high schools as well. If the students are only receiving five hours of music instruction for the entire year, they will not be ready to go into band programs or chorus programs at the middle and high school levels. The foundations of music performance begin at the elementary level.

I am going to do my best to teach everything I am supposed to teach my students in half the time, at two schools, wherever they place me next year. It's just I am having difficulty understanding why elementary school students are the ones who always lose the most.

Naoko Wicklein

Ocala

Lynch mob

People marching in the streets. People who are trying to do just one thing — influence the outcome of this trial. They do not know the facts. They have not heard all the evidence in the trial. They certainly were not present when the incident took place. They do not care what the facts are. They aren't interested in justice. They are just like a lynch mob. The only difference is they are trying to force the courts to do their lynching for them. And they are succeeding.

I feel sure the authorities fear the riots that might take place if the outcome of the trial isn't to their liking. Why else would they be beefing up security in Sanford?

Ask yourself this: If Trayvon Martin had been white, would this trial be getting the attention it is getting. I think not. We read in the paper and see on TV news of many murders taking place. Ho hum! It's hardly news anymore. It happens every day. Why aren't there marches and protests at those trials? All this is fueled by the news media, which is hungry for something spectacular to report.

I'm sure this letter is politically incorrect, but so much of the truth is anymore.

Wayne Richardson

Ocala

Instant hot water

Here's a project for children of today or tomorrow. When we first turn on the hot water spigot, cold water starts out and we have to wait for the water to get hot. This is a waste of millions of gallons of water each day around the world. If someone could come up with an idea for starting hot water when that spigot is first turned on, think of all those gallons saved each day. Of course, it would need to be a system that would not waste some other energy.

John Popolis

Ocala

A healthy Fourth

Whatever happened to the good old days when the worst things we had to fear on the 4th of July were traffic jams and wayward fireworks?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Meat and Poultry Hotline, this year's top threat is food poisoning by nasty E. coli and salmonella bugs lurking in hamburgers and hot dogs at millions of backyard barbecues. The hotline's advice is to grill them longer and hotter. Of course, they don't bother to mention that the high-temperature grilling that kills the bugs also forms lots of cancer-causing compounds.

Luckily, a bunch of enterprising U.S. food manufacturers and processors have met this challenge head-on by developing a great variety of healthful, delicious, and convenient, veggie burgers and soy dogs.

These delicious plant-based foods don't harbor nasty pathogens or cancer-causing compounds. They don't even carry cholesterol, saturated fats, drugs, or pesticides. And, they are waiting for us in the frozen food section of our supermarket.

This 4th of July offers a great opportunity to declare our independence from the meat industry and to share wholesome veggie burgers and soy dogs with our family and friends.

Richard Fournier

Ocala

Bells of freedom

In 1963, John F. Kennedy asked the nation to "ring the bells of freedom" on Independence Day. The people responded and bells were rung all over the country to celebrate our independence.

Let's resurrect that proud tradition and ask our citizens to ring bells on July 4th at 2 p.m. I suggest that the Star-Banner make the request on the front page of the July 4th edition asking citizens, churches, fire stations, etc, to join in this independence celebration.

<p>Don't stop the music</p><p>I teach music at an elementary school. Every year, we are told that the School Board is going to cut our programs first to save money. Every year, we keep advocating the importance of music education. The School Board members say they understand the importance of music education at the elementary level.</p><p>They say they support fine arts programs in Marion County. Yet, they have taken away music and art from our elementary students.</p><p>Board members and the superintendent come to events such as the All-County Honor Choir or Charlie Dixon Elementary Music Festival. They say what a good job our students do.</p><p>I wonder if they know that the program is not built in one day. Little by little we are teaching skills to our students. By teaching them the components of music they are able to put them together to perform beautiful music. Students not only learn the music skills, but they also learn how to work in a team and how to be creative. These are the kinds of skills they will need to have to work in the real world.</p><p>I hope that the board understands that cutting music at the elementary level is cutting music at middle and high schools as well. If the students are only receiving five hours of music instruction for the entire year, they will not be ready to go into band programs or chorus programs at the middle and high school levels. The foundations of music performance begin at the elementary level.</p><p>I am going to do my best to teach everything I am supposed to teach my students in half the time, at two schools, wherever they place me next year. It's just I am having difficulty understanding why elementary school students are the ones who always lose the most.</p><p><i>Naoko Wicklein</p><p>Ocala</i></p><p> </p><p>Lynch mob</p><p>People marching in the streets. People who are trying to do just one thing — influence the outcome of this trial. They do not know the facts. They have not heard all the evidence in the trial. They certainly were not present when the incident took place. They do not care what the facts are. They aren't interested in justice. They are just like a lynch mob. The only difference is they are trying to force the courts to do their lynching for them. And they are succeeding.</p><p>I feel sure the authorities fear the riots that might take place if the outcome of the trial isn't to their liking. Why else would they be beefing up security in Sanford?</p><p>Ask yourself this: If Trayvon Martin had been white, would this trial be getting the attention it is getting. I think not. We read in the paper and see on TV news of many murders taking place. Ho hum! It's hardly news anymore. It happens every day. Why aren't there marches and protests at those trials? All this is fueled by the news media, which is hungry for something spectacular to report.</p><p>I'm sure this letter is politically incorrect, but so much of the truth is anymore.</p><p><i>Wayne Richardson</p><p>Ocala</i></p><p> </p><p>Instant hot water</p><p>Here's a project for children of today or tomorrow. When we first turn on the hot water spigot, cold water starts out and we have to wait for the water to get hot. This is a waste of millions of gallons of water each day around the world. If someone could come up with an idea for starting hot water when that spigot is first turned on, think of all those gallons saved each day. Of course, it would need to be a system that would not waste some other energy.</p><p><i>John Popolis</p><p>Ocala</i></p><p> </p><p>A healthy Fourth</p><p>Whatever happened to the good old days when the worst things we had to fear on the 4th of July were traffic jams and wayward fireworks?</p><p>According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Meat and Poultry Hotline, this year's top threat is food poisoning by nasty E. coli and salmonella bugs lurking in hamburgers and hot dogs at millions of backyard barbecues. The hotline's advice is to grill them longer and hotter. Of course, they don't bother to mention that the high-temperature grilling that kills the bugs also forms lots of cancer-causing compounds.</p><p>Luckily, a bunch of enterprising U.S. food manufacturers and processors have met this challenge head-on by developing a great variety of healthful, delicious, and convenient, veggie burgers and soy dogs.</p><p>These delicious plant-based foods don't harbor nasty pathogens or cancer-causing compounds. They don't even carry cholesterol, saturated fats, drugs, or pesticides. And, they are waiting for us in the frozen food section of our supermarket.</p><p>This 4th of July offers a great opportunity to declare our independence from the meat industry and to share wholesome veggie burgers and soy dogs with our family and friends.</p><p><i>Richard Fournier</p><p>Ocala</i></p><p> </p><p>Bells of freedom</p><p>In 1963, John F. Kennedy asked the nation to "ring the bells of freedom" on Independence Day. The people responded and bells were rung all over the country to celebrate our independence.</p><p>Let's resurrect that proud tradition and ask our citizens to ring bells on July 4th at 2 p.m. I suggest that the Star-Banner make the request on the front page of the July 4th edition asking citizens, churches, fire stations, etc, to join in this independence celebration.</p><p>Dan Stinecipher</p><p>Ocala</p>